During the late 18th and 19th centuries a variety of technological innovations were becoming available to enhance the comfort and convenience
of domestic life but, far from urban centres, the great Country Houses had to be self sufficient in the provision of gas, electricity,
sanitation and water supply.
Subsequently, the decline of many country houses, together with their being donated to the National Trust,
has meant that less alteration has taken place than in domestic property.

In 2008 Professor Marilyn Palmer and Dr Ian West began studying the technology in a wide range of country houses, examining both the physical
remains and the historical evidence and trying to place them in the wider context of the effects they had above and below stairs.

Heritage of Industry is delighted to have secured
Prof. Palmer and
Dr West to lead this series of unique tours where they will guide us
through some of these grand residences, help us to understand some
of the fascinating artefacts still to be seen and explain how they
changed the lives of those who lived there.

In 2018 we are offering one Country House tour, click on the
name to see more details :

East Yorkshire, staying near Doncaster and near Beverley the tour
includes 5 properties - one well known but the others less well
visited

We are sorry to announce that we have had to postpone
the tour to the North West. The original date in September clashed
with the re-arranged
AIA Conference and we attempted to move it to
the beginning of July but we have been unable to secure bookings for
our tours of the houses at that time. We hope to re-arrange it for
2019. Those who have expressed interest will be kept on the list for
next year.

Special offer

Marilyn and Ian have written a book "Technology in the Country House" based on their research, published by
Historic England. See details of the book
List price £60.00

We are pleased to be able to offer a copy of the book at
half price with any tour booking